A method and a system of the aforementioned type are known from document EP 2 302 362 A1. The method is intended to locate one or more fluorophores contained in a scattering medium by illuminating the scattering medium with a radiation source and detecting, for at least one detector, the signal emitted by the medium at the fluorescence wavelength. Time distribution of the signal received by the detector is then performed for each source-detector pair.
This time distribution is particularly dependent on the values of the mean response time of the source function Ts and on the mean response time of the detector Td for each source-detector pair, and it is then necessary to know said values in order to locate the fluorophore(s). The mean time values of the source function Ts and the mean response time values of the detector Td are measured during a calibration operation in which the source is positioned facing the detector without any scattering medium.
More generally, the time distribution measured using the reconstruction system corresponds to the true time distribution convoluted by an instrument response known as Instrument Response Function—IRF. Instrument response represents the time distribution of the pulse generated by the radiation source and detected by the detector when there is no scattering medium. It is then necessary to measure the instrument response so that it is possible subsequently to determine the true time distribution.
However, the determining of instrument response for each source-detector pair requires lengthy, tedious experimental measurements.
It is therefore an objective of the invention to propose a reconstruction method and a reconstruction system allowing the reconstruction of the desired optical properties of the medium whilst not requiring any experimental determination of instrument response.